On July 24, Turkey launched "Operation Martyr Yalcin" against ISIS positions in Syria and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) positions in Northern Iraq.

The air strikes began in the early morning a day after Islamic State militants attacked a Turkish border patrol in the town of Elbeyli in Kilis Province, killing one soldier and injuring two others. The operation was named after the Turkish soldier killed in the initial attack, Yalçın Nane.

Post-strike analysis assessed 35 ISIS militants were killed by the first wave of raids that was followed later on the same day (starting around 22:30 LT) by a larger air strike against PKK positions in northern Iraq. The mission is said to have involved 20 F-16s that according to witnesses and initial reports actually did enter Syrian and Iraqi airspace.

On July 25, a third wave of air strikes was launched against PKK. This consisted of three sub-waves, the first and second of which involved 70 F-16 s that conducted their mission, returned to Dyarbakir, and were re-armed and re-launched. The third wave was reportedly conducted by 25 F-4E-2020 Phantoms from Eskisehir, which were temporarily deployed to Erhac.

In the subsequent days, F-16s (from 181 Filo with support from 161 Filo) from Dyarbakir, mainly focused on PKK positions in both in northern Iraq and inside Turkey, as well as on ISIS targets in northern Syria.

Tony Lovelock/The AviationistThe Turkish Air Force has been preparing to conduct a similar air campaign for the 15 years through Anatolian Eagle (AE) series of exercises.